Aiken Alert
Okay, all you Aiken haters just scroll on over to the next post. All you Aiken lovers, turn the page …..
Piling On
As if Texas Southern University doesn’t have enough problems, it now has the NCAA cracking down hard on it. TSU received five warning letters from the NCAA, the highest for any school in the nation. The warning letters are the first-ever sent out under the NCAA’s efforts to make sure…
Wait a minute …
There was a curious phrase in a USA Today report of the Nielsen BDS, Arbitron and Radio & Records. It’s just a blurb, but it speaks volumes if you read between the lines a little. First, Akon’s “Don’t Matter” from his Konviction CD is still in the No. 1 spot,…
Guilt Tripping
Novice Texas Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, was the show again today in Austin as he argued successfully to a Senate committee that any woman seeking an abortion would have to have an ultrasound first. Physicians would be required to perform the test and review the results with the pregnant patient…
Have a Look
If you’re staying up late tonight, make sure you tune in to David Letterman to see Houston’s own Mike MacRae. The Houston Press gave him Best Comedian back in 2002 and you can see why tonight when he appears as part of Dave’s Impressionist Week. — Dusti Rhodes…
That Sounds Like a Job for the Roach Wrangler
So we assume you heard the Houston Museum of Natural Science is paying out 25 cents a roach. What we don’t understand is why the museum didn’t just call this guy. — Keith Plocek Bonus link: A musical number from the movie Joe’s Apartment…
This Good Feeling Might Just Stay with You, Just a Little Longer
I come to you today with a true feel-good story. Not one of those syrupy things like how Craig Biggio has touched your life, or Lance Berkman relaying religious cheer throughout the city. No. This is a real life, too good to be true, feel-good story. Let me take you…
What’s Nine Runs Between Friends?
There’s not much to say about last night’s Astros game. The final was 11-2, Cincinnati over Houston. Bronson Arroyo, the Reds starter, was 0 for the season. Until last night. Now, in fairness to Arroyo, his ERA was under 3.00, he just hadn’t been getting any run support. That changed…
Rocket-hater or Realist?
For the record, we never said he wasn’t smooth. Oh boy. Here we go again. Over the course of the last week or so, I’ve been assaulted by friends and readers who claim I’ve jumped off the Rockets’ bandwagon and/or given up on Tracy McGrady. At first, I thought I’d…
Lamapalooza
Photos by Daniel Kramer His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama gave two lectures yesterday at Rice University. This was his third appearance at Rice. Known for his sense of humor, he occasionally burst into laughter, reminding this reporter of another spiritual master: Yoda. But of course, it was…
Pinc Gator
Check out Houston rapper Pinc Gator’s YouTube interview about his song, “I’m a Que.”…
365 Days Later
It was a year ago today that local rapper Hawk was gunned down. Matt Sonzala actually knew the man, so we’re gonna defer to HoustonSoReal on this one. Click here read Matt’s thoughts on the first anniversary of Hawk’s death. — Keith Plocek…
The Vintage Mirrors the Year
Daniel Kramer “Wines blow my mind when the purity of the grape is in the glass, and when the winemaker knows that it’s his or her job to accurately reflect the conditions of that vintage year — not to interfere with what the earth gave us,” says Antonio Gianola, wine…
The Vintage Mirrors the Year
Daniel Kramer “Wines blow my mind when the purity of the grape is in the glass, and when the winemaker knows that it’s his or her job to accurately reflect the conditions of that vintage year — not to interfere with what the earth gave us,” says Antonio Gianola, wine…
Rotation: Out Today
Two women with very different styles release CDs today. African singer Angelique Kidjo’s Djin Djin features duets with Branford Marsalis, Joss Stone, Ziggy Marley, Carlos Santana and Josh Groban. Kidjo, Santana and Groban perform “Pearls” together – not our favorite. But it’s the only mis-step in the bunch. We highly…
Tall Texas Tale
Coming out in trade paperback this month, Gary Shteyngart’s Absurdistan tells the story of Mischa Vainberg, a grossly overweight, highly wealthy, overly circumcised Russian Jew who finds himself trapped in the fictional, titular Caucasus country as it devolves into civil war. Effortless (except for when it’s a tad purple), Vainberg’s…
Blast Off
And now Houston Press intern (and high school senior) Ishanee Parikh weighs in on last night’s Rockets win. Watch out. The girl’s been studying hard for her AP exam in Trash Talking. The Rockets lead the Jazz 3-2 after last night’s 96-92 win. Just when you thought the postseason was…
Re: (Not Actually) In the Line of Fire
We sure did a lot of posting during yesterday’s armed standoff. So much, in fact, that we have to wonder whether to take the tenth item on last night’s David Letterman Top Ten List a little personally. Ah, well. Suck it, Dave. – Keith Plocek…
Ms. Strange Love
George Hixson Tamarie Cooper, underground theater goddess and competitive gorger Tamarie Cooper is Houston’s underground theater goddess. Every year, the head of Infernal Bridegroom Productions puts on her ever-changing one-woman show Tamalalia, which she calls “sort of a grand MGM 1950s musical but with a wink.” This year, however, she…
Progress Report
Well, we’re one month into the season. Is it too soon to say that I told you so? Actually, it probably is too early. But let’s just say that I’ve hinted at what may come to be. The Astros are 10-14 for April. The team’s in last place in the…
(Not Actually) In the Line of Fire
This just in (no, seriously, we’re actually breaking news this time): The suspected carjackers were not inside the building. They’d apparently slipped through before the place was surrounded. The end. (Or is it?) – Keith Plocek…
Re: In the Line of Fire
This just came in off the wire from METRO: Because of a police action occurring Downtown, METRO is detouring more than a dozen major bus routes that travel Louisiana and Milam. This includes the: 3, 44, 78, 79, 56, 102, 108, 137, 221, 163, 236, 244, 246 and 247. All…
Re: In the Line of Fire
This just in: The Downtown Y is closed. Which totally sucks, because we were really looking forward to the 6:30 Body Pump class. Not content with just stealing a Honda Civic, the alleged carjackers are now going after our muscle tone. — Keith Plocek…
Re: In the Line of Fire
Is it just us, or does this cop have a sweet tattoo? — Keith Plocek…
Re: In the Line of Fire
There we were, thinking about how we could skip 24 tonight and just watch the action outside the Press building, when we just saw a cop walking by with a cup of coffee in his hand. Cue the commercial break. — Keith Plocek…
Re: In the Line of Fire
So Dusti Rhodes and Daniel Kramer just got waved off our roof by an officer on the ground — damn cops, trying to infringe on our First Amendment right to get ourselves shot — but not before Dusti managed to capture this charming little micro-narrative of a cameraman being shooed…
Re: In the Line of Fire
And now HouStoned Theatre presents a dramatization of what could be going on right now in the parking garage across the street from the Houston Press building. Naturally, our definition of “what could be going on” comes from watching too many bad cop movies. “Look, buddy, I know what you’re…
Re: In the Line of Fire
So Dan Kramer and I were standing around, hanging out with the TV news cameramen, when the cops just pushed everyone back a block. Lucky us, we turned around and walked back in the building. Take that, Channel 2, with your fancy helicopter! We’re reporting live from right across the…
Re: In the Line of Fire
Oh. Shit. Some dude just showed up in an all-black Explorer, wearing camo and wielding a machine gun. How exactly that green camo is gonna hide him in the urban jungle, we don’t know. But it’s on. – Keith Plocek…
Re: In the Line of Fire
As promised, here are some photos by Daniel Kramer of the action across for the Press building. Keep checking back for updates. Some shit’s about to go down. — Keith Plocek…
In the Line of Fire
Right now there’s some serious five-o action across from the Houston Press building, in a parking garage at the corner of Milam and Pease. We’re still piecing together the story, but it appears a carjacker allegedly crashed his newly found ride into another car and fled on foot into the…
Jesus!
I spent my Sunday afternoon watching the Astros and reading the Chronicle. Well, actually, the Astros game took much longer than it takes to read the Chronicle. While engaged in these activities, I came across Jesus Ortiz’s “Baseball Notebook” column. The column’s really nothing but Ortiz’s standard the-Astros-are-really-great-the-whole-team’s-just-in-a-slump thing. But…
The Mother Church of CFS
Robb Walsh Bud Kennedy with a Mary’s CFS Mary’s Café in Strawn has been called “the mother church” of chicken-fried steak. I attended services there Sunday before last with Bud Kennedy, a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram who has been writing about CFS (among other things) in that paper…
The Mother Church of CFS
Robb Walsh Bud Kennedy with a Mary’s CFS Mary’s Café in Strawn has been called “the mother church” of chicken-fried steak. I attended services there Sunday before last with Bud Kennedy, a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram who has been writing about CFS (among other things) in that paper…
Getting Past the Nightmare
April 29, 2006. The NFL world still isn’t ready to let us forget that date. One year later, analysts still (rightfully) deride the Texans for selecting not-so-super Mario and even Electronic Arts has joined in the fun by basing an entire marketing campaign around Houston’s draft blunder. Then again, we…
The Cellar
The Astros lost two of three to the first-place Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend. This marked the first time that the Brewers had won a series against the Astros, in Houston, since September of 1997. Staff ace Roy Oswalt took the loss on Friday. The Brewers won 4-1. After the…
Live Shots: The Houston International Festival, Take Three
Here’s a little YouTubage from the Stone Coyotes on Sunday at iFest:…
Take Five: Five Dollar Friend
Five Dollar Friend came in from Austin to support Deep Ella’s Empty Seas and Memories CD release party. HouStoned Rocks caught up with front man and guitarist Jacob Trevino and bass player David Wechsler for a Take Five interview…
Listen Up: Deep Ella’s Empty Seas and Memories
Photo: JimmyEPhotography.com We dropped by the Deep Ella CD release party at Warehouse Live last night. The group’s new release, Empty Seas and Memories, just dropped; here’s a preview. First up is “Systematic,” second is “Undone,” and finally is “Baby, You’re Wrong.” All songs are written and preformed by Deep…
Friday Chart Check
The top ten albums on the Hot/Pop Billboard’s 200: 1. Avril Lavigne The Best Damn Thing RCA 2. Nine Inch Nails Year Zero Nothing For our review of Year Zero, click here. 3. Various Artists NOW 24 EMI/Sony BMG/Universal/Zomba Down from its number one spot last week. 4. Bucky Covington…
Mixtape 2: Girl Names
This month for the mixtape we thought: April is a girl’s name and so is May and June, too. So we went with the theme of songs that are also girl’s names. Hey, what do you expect, we’re busy catching breaking news here, we can’t devote all our creativity to…
At the Buzzer…
The deadline for this month’s photo contest for high school students is Monday, April 30. The theme is sports, so let’s see those photos of players, coaches, mascots and overzealous little league parents. Click here for more information. — Keith Plocek…
Live Shots: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Where were the bells, the saws, and the sound of clattering silverware? Neither opener Elvis Perkins in Dearland nor headliners Clap Your Hands Say Yeah matched the gorgeous layering of their CDs. A harmonium, a snare drum played with a rattle, the words, “La-la” being screamed by a drummer, and,…
Analyze This, That and the Other Thing!
You know what. Screw my psychologist. Sometimes, there’s just nothing positive upon which to dwell. The Astros lost, again, to the Pirates, again. The final of this sixth loss in a row, and sixth straight loss to Pittsburgh, was 5-3. The Astros scored 2 runs in the top of the…
Great Q at Hearne’s Gas N Chew
Photos by Robb Walsh Last Thursday, they were serving the best barbecued brisket in Texas, and therefore the planet, at the Stop N’ Save (1259 N. Market Street) in Hearne. This fortuitous discovery was a complete accident. I had pulled over to use the facilities at the slightly decrepit convenience…
Great Q at Hearne’s Gas N Chew
Photos by Robb Walsh Last Thursday, they were serving the best barbecued brisket in Texas, and therefore the planet, at the Stop N’ Save (1259 N. Market Street) in Hearne. This fortuitous discovery was a complete accident. I had pulled over to use the facilities at the slightly decrepit convenience…
Time Bomb Defused
Among many of the more paranoid residents of the southwest side of town, the date of August 31 has been looming ominously. That’s the day all FEMA housing assistance gets cut off for Katrina victims. Shortly after that, the doomsday theory goes, the former Louisianans living in the apartments of…
Clay Aiken Art Contest
The entries are rolling in for the Houston Press Clay Aiken Art Contest. You can vote for your favorite in the comments section following this blog. Now we are using the word “contest” in a loose, completely general way. We haven’t figured out what the prize might be, although we…
The Line for Taco Bell Jokes Starts Here
Yeah, we really have no idea what this picture means. This weekend is host to three great moments in sports. The NFL draft, where dies are cast and dreams are made. The NBA playoffs, where sweat and sneakers separate the men from the boys. And, of course, the PETCO Search…
Notes from the Road: Opie Hendrix
Opie Hendrix and the Tall Boys Opie Hendrix sent us this missive, and we thought we’d pass it on to you: It was Thursday morning coming down, 17 hours & four states later, I am sailing the rented Ford Taurus across the Ohio river into Jeffersonville, IN. . My good…
The Greatest Worst Song about Houston. Ever.
In a Racket column some time back, I spotlighted a few of my favorite songs about Houston. I didn’t get around to telling you about some on the other end of the spectrum, like ‘80s soft rocker-turned-Christian music mogul Chris Christian’s “Houston,” the very worst tune about Houston ever written…
Finally! Mock Draft Version 5.0
And the #1 pick is… First, a confession: I’m positively mocked-out at this point. I’m tired of thinking my way through a million different scenarios and I’m sick of reading everyone else’s opinions. Quite frankly, when I calculate how many hours I’ve thrown away playing the world’s greatest guessing game,…
But at Least the Guns Aren’t Gay…
Oh, wait, can’t we get sued for running a picture of Tom Cruise next to the word “gay”? Shoot. So 19 guns are missing from the HPD property room, the Chron reports this morning. Two other guns that had gone missing were found during a traffic stop and a drug…
Keeping Your Chin Up Can Be a Real Pain in the Neck
Okay, as requested by my psychologist, I’m going to keep things positive. So, I won’t mention that the Astros had 16 hits. Or that the ‘Stros left 18 men on base. Or that Morgan Ensberg was 0-7 with a walk. And I won’t mention that the Astros lost to the…
300: March to Glory
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Platform: PSP
Price: $29.99
ESRB Rating: M (for Mature)
Score: 4 (out of 10)
Joe McPhee with the Thing
Scandinavian jazz experimentalists the Thing consists of three guys whose names you’ve never heard of and can’t pronounce anyway (Mats Gustafsson, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love). But, rest assured, many artists you do know — Sonic Youth, the Boredoms, the Ex — have heard of and have worked with those guys…
Five Wonders of the World
Planet Earth Roll over, Marlin Perkins, and tell Jacques Cousteau the news: There’s never been another nature series like this. You will spend forever glued to this five-disc collection, finding among such holy-shit discoveries a herd of never-before-photographed camels who live in the frozen wastelands, great whites dining on unsuspecting…
The Condemned
Ten People will fight. Nine people will die. You get to watch.” So proclaims the poster for The Condemned, a movie executive-produced by World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon and starring self-professed “whup-ass machine” Stone Cold Steve Austin and oft-suspended former soccer star Vinnie Jones. So can someone explain where…
Top DVDs
Al Franken: God Spoke (Docurama) Code Name: The Cleaner (New Line) Columbo: Mystery Murder Collection 1989 (Universal) Dj Vu (Buena Vista) The Documentaries of Louis Malle (Criterion) The Drew Carey Show: The Complete First Season (Warner Bros.) Flipper: Season One (MGM) .45 (Velocity) Ironside: Season 1 (Shout! Factory) Jean Renoir:…
Year of the Dog
Speaking as the owner of a new puppy, I can say definitively that a dog is both more and less annoying than the average person. Year of the Dog makes much the same point with its pack of uncontrollable pooches, including a cute beagle that rips into the wrong bag…
Jerry Payne, attorney and ex-strip club owner, vs. the IRS and the Houston Chronicle
Jerry Payne can be a hard guy to keep on track. It’s not because when you go to interview him — whether it’s at 1:30 or 2 on a weekday afternoon — he immediately asks if you want to join him in a beer. Truth be told, he just nurses…
Houston Chronicle, Virginia Tech massacre, HISD, George Michael
As anyone who’s visited their Web site knows, the Houston Chronicle is to blogging what Dick Cheney is to secrecy — they can’t get enough. Included in this “we’re so hip” effort is something called “chron.commons,” where regular Joes like you and me can have a blog of their own,…
Nightfly Visits the Jet Lounge
Monday nights at Jet Lounge (1515 Pease, 713-659-2000) are about high-octane tunes, horror flicks and well-dressed ladies with good hair. Psycho Haws Zombie Circus — in its second month — caters to the sort of folks who believe that a stand-up bass and campy death scenes have an intrinsic relationship…
Mail Call
Woodwind Lakes Edition Online readers respond to “Odd Man Out,” by Todd Spivak, April 12. Old news: I am a member of this community and feel that you have made the good people of this neighborhood look bad and the bad people of this neighborhood look like environmental saints. There…
Alice’s Diner
The “Alice’s Deluxe Hamburger” at Alice’s Diner on Beechnut comes on a toasted sesame-seed bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions and mayo — but no mustard. So before I bit into my sandwich, I asked the waitress behind the long lunch counter if I could get some. She brought…
Arthur Yoria
Arthur Yoria hasn’t always been the easygoing guy he is today. Not long ago, Yoria suffered from panic attacks, attacks so severe that for a while the singer/songwriter was housebound because of his fears. When talk therapy and other remedies didn’t help, Yoria started taking antidepressant medication. It worked. “I…
Salento
Sometimes, the simple things in life are the best, like the brie sandwich ($5.50) at Salento (2407 Rice, 713-528-7478). It’s nothing more than a large piece of crusty French baguette sliced down the middle and gently warmed, then filled with generous slices of well-ripened, creamy French brie and tomato slices…
Stingaree Music Festival
I can’t believe all these people came out,” said John Evans, surveying the scene at the first-ever Stingaree Music Festival in not-so-warm, definitely-not-sunny Crystal Beach, Texas. And all things considered, there was a pretty damn good turnout for this thing — a couple of hundred people bundled up in winter…
Heaven and Hell
The name on the ticket stub may be Heaven and Hell, but that’s only to avoid the wrath (and writs) of Sharon Osbourne. Every headbanger worth his devil horn’s sign knows what he’s really getting: a reunion of the Mark III version of Black Sabbath, the lineup that both reached…
Stupid Baby Names
In the Swedish harbor town of Gothenburg, a couple is creating a scandal over the naming of their new baby girl. You see, in Sweden you cannot legally name your child Metallica, at least not without a court fight. Michael and Karolina Tomaros welcomed a baby girl into the world…
Product Lines of the Rich and Famous
Music moguls P. Diddy and Jennifer Lopez are among the honchos showing their spring fashions this season, and that got us to thinking. Surely, clothing can’t be the only thing singers are hawking? What other products have singers slapped their names on? With a little digging, we found these fine…
Bright Eyes
So, Bright Eyes front man little Conor Oberst is all grown up. If you heard his single “When the President Talks to God” a few years ago, you knew this was coming. As we heard on 2005’s I’m Wide Awake, he’s become infatuated with a classic country rock sound, and…
I Am My Own Wife
Time and history kick us in the backside every few years, transforming our heroes into evildoers, our villains into saviors. Hindsight and perspective can change the stories we live by, making all the difference in the world. Just when we think we’ve got the whole bad-vs.-good narrative figured out, some…
Dean & Britta
In their first record since dissolving indie-pop staple Luna (and second release as a couple), Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips take the classic girl-guy dynamic and spin it into something a bit more modern. On Back Numbers, it’s easy to see why Dean was so smitten with Britta in the…
Stage Capsule Reviews
Ada Giuseppe Verdi’s Ada (1871) is supposed to knock our socks off aurally and visually, with moonlit temples on the banks of the Nile, sumptuous palace interiors, mysterious inner sanctums filled with incense and gloom, a split-level set (his own design) and, most famous of all, a majestic triumphal scene…
Stephen Marley
The least known and perhaps most talented son of Bob Marley is finally stepping into the limelight. Though Stephen Marley is usually working behind the scenes on his family’s various projects, his long-awaited solo effort, Mind Control, lives up to its musical lineage with 11 tracks of pure roots-rock-reggae. Marley…
“Sam Gilliam: a retrospective”
In 1968, Sam Gilliam dispensed with the convention of wooden painting stretchers and simply used the canvas itself, gathering, draping and suspending it. Gilliam’s “draped” paintings were a groundbreaking idea from an artist unafraid of experimentation and change. “Sam Gilliam: a retrospective,” currently on view at the Contemporary Arts Museum,…
Anthony Hamilton
Things have never been easy for platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated, neo-soul crooner Anthony Hamilton. Before briefly touching superstardom with his 2003 So So Def hit Comin’ from Where I’m From, Hamilton bounced from short-lived record label to short-lived record label. Hamilton, who honed his gritty chops singing in his Charlotte, North Carolina,…
Art Capsule Reviews
“Allison Hunter: New Animals” “New Animals” is a continuation of Allison Hunter’s “Simply Stunning” series, which showed at New York’s 511 Gallery last year. The Houston-based photographer’s recent work concentrates largely on animals, and the images reflect a progression toward emancipating creatures from the worldly environment. Sheep and deer inhabit…
Elvis Perkins in Dearland
Elvis Perkins’s debut Ash Wednesday has been well received for the most part, even though the market for singer/songwriter types is way oversaturated at the moment. (If his name sounds familiar, his dad was the dude in Psycho and his mom was in one of the planes that hit the…
Mexican-American Culture
Dear Readers, The Reconquista has arrived! On May 1, ¡Ask a Mexican! comes out in book form gracias to the literary madmen at Scribner. Expect more of the same, but más: more essays, more illustrations from Mark Dancey (the gabacho who created this column’s logo) and more questions. Below are…
Devin the Dude
Houston’s dankest, wackiest export, Devin the Dude, is all things to all women, or so his collaborations suggest. With The Alchemist, he’s a paranoid cheater (“Where Can We Go?”), with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg he’s a hornball creep (“Fuck You”), and with De La Soul he’s a big-butt aficionado…